Leading Lady
by xXDonnaTylerXx
Summary: He spent the day trying to be excited, and wondering why exactly he wasn't. Finn can't help but question himself and his feelings on the day he plans to propose to his girlfriend. Futurefic, Finn/Rachel.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my second Glee fic, I'm getting slowly addicted! I thought it was just going to be a oneshot, but I think I'm going to need to do two chapters to do it justice :) This is set a few years after high school ends, so Finn is around twenty five. I won't say anything else except this is decidely Finn/Rachel (L) So cute! I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think.**

**Donna xxx**

He had been toying with the idea for a while now, spent agonising hours weighing up all of the pros and cons of taking such a big step, before finally deciding: To hell with it. He was as happy now as he figured he was ever going to be, so why not? They'd been dating steadily for nine months now, his second longest relationship ever, and he knew she thought it was the next logical step.

The only reason that he was hesitant was absolutely ridiculous, so stupid that he bearely even allowed himself to think it. At least, not when he was conscious, anyway... What or _who_ his dreams chose to focus on, he told himself he had no control over.

And so, Finn planned it all out. On friday, he would surprise her by picking her up from work for the first time ever at around six thirty, taking with him the red dress he vaguely knew she liked to wear on evenings out. He would take her to a showing of a musical on Broadway, before a late dinner at a nice restaurant... And that was when he'd ask her. The whole plan seemed fine to him.

He spent the friday daytime killing time at work, trying to be excited and wondering why exactly he wasn't. Surely this was supposed to be the best day of his life, he knew he was supposed to be surer about this than anything... But this was the right thing to do, and he knew it. Better to do it now and secure a good future for himself with a woman who loved him, rather than spending his life chasing a pointless dream and wondering, at the end of it all, what he might have had.

He was planning to leave at five-thirty, hoping that he could avoid the rush hour traffic that was enevitable when attempting to drive across town in New York. But, of course, the fates had their way, and the uber-diva who's new single Finn was producing and who was meant to be finished by four that day did not even arrive at the studio until three-forty-five. Which meant that an irritable Finn did not get to leave work until six-fifteen, without even a chance to change out of his work suit.

By this time, of course, the traffic was in full flow, gridlocked as far as the eye could see. Finn banged his head frustratedly against the steering wheel, guessing, and quite rightly, that he would finally reach her office only to be told that she had already left. Bad omen number one.

"Crap. How long ago did she leave?" He asked the mousy girl on the front desk in her building, "Was it long?"

"Uuuuhhhhh..." The bored-looking receptionist considered, "Now let me just check in the book... What was her name again, Mr. Hudson?"

"Grace. I just told you this." Finn tried desperately not to get too agitated.

"Grace Hudson, Grace Hudson..." She sucked on the end of a biro as she flipped through the log book.

"Her name isn't Hudson!" He almost cried, sorely tempted to start wringing his hands, "Hudson is _my _name, I just told you! Her name is Grace Ferringdon, and all I want to know is what time she clocked out."

"Right..." The girl looked confused, "Well, we have Grace Ferringdon here, but I'm not sure what time she left, it doesn't say...I could get ehr supervisor to see if he can remem-"

"Look." Finn cut her off, "You've been on reception all day, right? Can you please just tell me what time you vaguely remember her walking out of the elevators, writing her name in the book and then leaving?"

"Hmmmm," She considered, "What does she look like?"

He sighed, "She's a... small woman, you might say, around five four, long dark hair, dress sense a little quirky, she sings to herself quite a lot of the time..." He felt a little guilty as he said it, knowing inside him that it was no mere coincidence that he was about to propose to a woman who greatly resembled the person who had almost prevented him from ever leaving Ohio.

And it wasn't just in looks, either. As much as Grace did look like a certain someone, Finn had also been drawn to her all those months ago because of the way her eyes sparkled, the way that she lit up when she sang whilst pottering about the apartment. Her ridiculous enthieusiasm for broadway musicals and her habit of crying at every single remotely sad moment of every film ever made. Sure, all of these tings were on a much smaller scale than the person he couldn't help comparing her to... but they were there all the same, and he found them strangely comforting.

"Ummm..." The girl behind reception mused, "That wouldn't be her there, would it?" Finn turned and looked at where the girl was gesturing, to see Grace crashing through the entrance doors, her arms laden with files and looking flushed.

"Finn!" She exlaimed as she saw him, "I just had to dash back because I realized I didn't sign out properly... What are you doing here?"

"I'm surprising you!" He told her as she grabbed the pen and wrote the time in the log book, "I've booked us in to see _Cabaret _at seven-thirty, and then I thought we could grab some dinner afterwards."

"That sounds wonderful." She practically gasped, "But baby... what's the occasion?"

"No occasion, as such." He told her, smiling, "There's just something I wanted to talk to you about, and I tought this would be a nice way to... celebrate."

Her eyes widened, and he could instantly tell that she knew what he meant by the beam that broke out over her face as she threw his arms around her. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, tonight would go alright after all.

* * *

Or maybe not. In the car on the painstakingly slow drive over to the theatre, Grace was halfway through clumsily changing in the back seat when she told Finn he'd brought her the wrong dress... This one, although it resembled her favourite red dress, was one he had mistakenly dug out of the back of her wardrobe, and hadn't fitted her since she was seventeen. Bad omen number two.

When they finally did arrive and get parked, the couple were running so late that Finn didn't even glance at the huge poster outside of the theatre as they dashed inside, or have a chance to pick up a programme, instead heading directly to the box office, where the assistant informed them that there had been a mix-up with the booking arrangements. Instead of sitting directly in the middle, with prime view, they would be in the very front row, having to crane their necks just a few feet from the stage. Bad omen number three.

"Come on, sweetie, I'm sure it will be fine." Grace squeezed his hand as they edged into their seats, "The experience is more fulfilling when you have front-row seats, anyway." Finn tried to smile, but inside him the feeling was growing that tonight was turning into a complete disaster.

"Did you see the picture of the leading lady outside?" She asked him, whilst attempting to pull down the hem of her too-short, too-tight dress, "She's absolutely beautiful, and the _reviews _I've read, my god..."

"I didn't see her." Finn replied, distracted and only half listening. What was he _doing?_

Luckily, he was saved from having to think of a reply to that daunting question, as the house lights dropped and the orchestra began to play,the opening bars of the very first song. A spotlight shone down onto the leading actress that Grace had spoken so highly of... This was bad omen number four, most definitely the worst so far.

Finn's eyes widened... He really knew he was in trouble now. And he could barely contain his mixture of shock, delight and fear all mingled into one, as Rachel Berry began to sing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we go, guys! Thank you for the lovely positive reviews I've received so far, they mean a lot :) There will be one more chapter of this, but please let me know what you thought of this part! Much appreciated, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Donna xxx**

Finn felt numb as, after three hours that had made him so happy and so unbearably sad at the same time, they exited the theatre. He quite literally couldn't speak from the shock of it all... But luckily, his ever-chirpy girlfriend was more than happy to do the talking. Normally he would have been thankful for this, it was always a golden opportunity to drift off and think things over while Grace was babbling happily away about whatever her newest obsession was.

Only this time, her topic of choice was Rachel Berry. How stunning she was. How powerful her voice was. How her characterization had been perfect. How gracefully she moved on stage. And it was only as they took their seats in the romantic Italian restaurant over the road that Grace seemed to notice his discomfort, which was rising steadily by the second and had been since the moment the play had begun.

"Sweetie?" She asked him, "You okay? Did you not enjoy it?"

He forced his trademark sheepish smile on to his face, although it was killing him, "No no, of course I did." He mumbled, "I thought it was great."

"I was just trying to decide on my favourite song." She told him, grinning at the waiter who brought them a bottle of red wine, "And although _Cabaret _itself was undoubtedly the biggest performance piece, it has to be _Maybe This Time _for me. I was just blown away by that actress' emotion and her power during the chorus... What was her name again?" And with that, Grace dived into her bag to find the programme she'd picked up on the way out.

"Rachel Elizabeth Berry." Finn told her, trying to hide the sadness in his voice as he did so. The truth was, Rachel's rendition of _Maybe This Time _had been his favourite song as well, he too had been blown away by it... But for completely different reasons.

It had brought to the very front of his mind a memory from around eight years ago, when Mr Schuester had brought his old friend April to McKinley High to join their Glee club. She had sung that very same song to the club members, in a note-perfect yet somehow completely unemotive performance. And then, later that day, Finn had passed by the auditorium, trying to pretend he wasn't hoping to run into Rachel, and he had heard it. She was singing the exact same song, but this time it had stirred something inside of him. He hadn't been able to resist slipping inside the auditorium; sitting right at the back where he knew Rachel wouldn't be able to see him should she look out into the audience.

She had just been standing in the middle of the stage, unaccompanied by any instruments or other people, singing out to the empty room and giving it absolutely everything. Finn had been entranced by the passion on her face, the real emotion that had made him know instantly that this song meant more to her than it had first seemed. And it was right then, right in the middle of all the baby drama with Quinn, of all the crap he was getting from his football teammates, that he had realised it didn't matter. It didn't matter because he was in love with Rachel Berry, and he just didn't need anything else. And the very next day, he had taken her to the bowling alley with the pretence of getting her to come back to Glee, but in fact with full intention of kissing her. And he had.

Tonight, almost a decade later, she had given the exact same performance, put the same emotion and energy into it, and Finn had exactly the same reaction. When he heard her, he was seventeen and in love all over again.

"Huh." Grace's voice finally snapped him out of his reverie, "That's weird." She pointed to Rachel's photo in the programme, "In here it just says Rachel Berry... How do you know her middle name? I thought you didn't even know who she was."

"Oh, I know her..." Finn sighed before he could stop himself. _Oh, crap. _"I mean, I, uh... I went to high school with her. Rachel was in the glee club with me." _Nice, _he thought, _smooth. Maybe leave out the part where you've been completely in love with her since sophomore year, and the fact that you dated for a year and a half, though. The best year and a half of your life, at that._

"Oh my _gosh_!" Grace squealed, and he nearly flinched, finding it strangely hard to look at her, for some reason, "You've got to be kidding! I can't believe you didn't say anything, how amazing it must have been to... Wait, did you ever get to _perform _with her?" She looked enraptured, and her enraptured face look painfully like Rachel's, making Finn feel even more like squirming.

"Yeah, kinda all the time." he said shiftily, "She and I generally took the leads and the duets, so..."

But he was cut off by another torrent of amazement from his girlfriend, more and more about how she practically worshipped the ground Rachel walked on... This _so _was not helping. While she went on, Finn tried desperately not to listen to her, it was simply too painful so he tried to think of other things. He glanced out of the window in an attempt at distraction, only to catch sight of the theatre over the road and more importantly, the twenty foot poster that he had somehow missed on the way in, with the word _Cabaret _in sparkling letters and a larger-than-life image of Rachel Berry, one eyebrow raised and gazing directly into the camera.

God, he loved her. A though which was promptly followed by an _Oh, damn! Why the _hell_ did I just think that? Grace. You love _Grace, _for god's sake... But then there's Rachel... _It was no use. The babbling nonsense going on in his own mind was starting to be on an equal par with what Grace was saying out loud... But thankfully, after two whole minutes, she notice the anxious look on his face and stopped herself.

"Oh, Finn honey, I'm sorry." She said apologetically, "I've been rambling on for ages... So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Huh?" He asked, blinking.

"You surprised me with all this because you said you wanted to talk to me about something." He couldn't help but notice that she was holding her left ring finger in her right hand as she said it, "So what was it?" In the shock and emotional turmoil that had come with seeing Rachel again after so long, Finn had managed to completely forget the life changing question that had been the entire point of the evening.

He gulped, telling himself that he needed to pull himself together. If he hadn't seen Rachel tonight, if he had chosen some other musical to take Grace to, then he wouldn't be hesitating, and he knew it. He would probably already of asked her. But then, he couldn't help but think - what if Rachel being in the musical had been a sign? What if he was _meant _to have seen her, if it was fate that she stopped him making the worst mistake of his life?

He could feel the small, square box in his pocket, suddenly feeling like it weighed a ton. He could see Grace's eyes boring into him expectantly, but then he could see the poster of Rachel outside, luring him in with the eyes he'd fallen for and never been able to resist since... This was all too much, and he simply couldn't deal with it without more time to think.

"I, um..." he was suddenly aware that he needed to say something to the woman he supposedly wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and he couldn't just leave her hanging, "I wanted to say, um... Wanted to... Tell you... The contract with that new artist, it came through." He blurted out, and felt absolutely awful when he saw Grace's face fall.

"Yeah..." Finn swallowed, trying now to fill the silence as she just looked at him, "Yeah, she came in to record her first number today and it was... It was, erm, great..." He trailed off pathetically as he saw Grace's expression: A small, accepting, sad smile. He could babble about pointless crap all he wanted, but the truth was the truth, and they both knew it. He had simply chickened out.

* * *

The rest of the meal felt like a first date. The two of them avoided each other's gaze slightly, made polite, trivial conversation and tried to ignore the undeniable awkwardness between them. And it wasn't until they left the restaurant, Finn courteously opening the door for her, that he saw her look half as delighted as she usually was.

Unfortunately, the thing that had made her come alive so suddenly was the sight of the stage door of the theatre opening across the road, and a certain young woman dressed in a pink skirt and white blouse exiting.

"Oh, my gosh!" Grace gasped, "We're going over." She told him, with a look that almost said _You owe me this, at least. _Before she darted across the road, quick as lightning, to greet Rachel.

Finn felt his stomach clenching at the sight of the two talking, and he took as long as he possibly could crossing the road, desperately wanting to put this moment off. He had been hoping that it was merely a temporary glitch, seeing her up there, that he could get back on track with Grace now it was over... But here she was, in the flesh, and he knew it was so much more.

Grace was mid-flow by the time he got there, and Rachel looked a little bemused as she took the proffered programme and marker pen.

"...have to say, I never thought you could live up to the reviews I'd read, but that was just astounding, Miss Berry."

"Thank you so much." Finn heard her reply honestly, and knew instantly that she hadn't changed at all. She hadn't seen him yet, but he knew he was going to have to face her, and so he gathered up all of his strength, took a deep breath, and walked up behind Grace, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Grace, did you say your name was?" In a split second Rachel looked up, caught sight of Finn standing behind her admirer, and promptly froze, dropping both programme and marker pen onto the floor without seeming to notice.

"Oh my god." She whispered, but he couldn't bring himself to utter a word. There were a few seconds where all they could do was look into each other's eyes, marveling at being able to do so again after so long. All Finn wanted to do was hold her and never let her go, but that was the moment when they both became aware of Grace once again.

"Um... My boyfriend is also a huge fan, Miss Berry." Grace cleared her throat, "This is-"

"Finn." Rachel completed the sentence along with her, seeming to relish the taste of the word on her tongue, "I know. I can't..."

"I know." Finn parroted, shaking his head slightly, "Rach, you... You made it, then." He gestured at the grand theatre from which she had come.

"I guess..." Rachel's eyes were full of tears, and she swallowed before she could bring herself to speak again, in a whisper, "I guess I did. And I guess..." Her eyes darted within the space of a tenth of a second to Grace and then back to him, "So did you." her tone was bittersweet, and full of the emotion which she normally made the effort to hide, but had just never been able to conceal from Finn Hudson.

Rachel blinked after a few seconds, seeming to realise where she was and how unprofessional she was acting, and immediately bent down to pick up the discarded pen and programme, "I am so sorry." She said in a strong, collected voice to Grace, smiling and uncapping the marker.

_Grace and Finn, _she wrote slowly in large, swirly letters on the front of the programme, _I wish you a lifetime of happiness. All my love, Rachel Berry._

Grace looked a little reassured at that, and smiled, going to take the programme out of the other woman's hands... But Rachel stopped her.

"Wait." She told her, "There's one more thing." And Rachel glanced fleetingly at Finn, her eyes saying everything, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small sheet of gold star stickers, neatly sticking one after her autograph on the front cover.

"I mean it." She said quietly, her voice wavering once again as she gently tapped the message she had written, before handing the programme to Grace, "It was lovely to meet you. And Finn, I..."

Rachel looked up at him, took one deep, slow breath in, and out, and he wondered what she could possibly say to help the agony he knew they were both in. And then she just gave him a tiny, watery smile, and turned on her heel, and walked away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all the feedback from this! This was going to be the final chapter, but the end of this section seemed like a natural place to leave it for now, so there will be one final chapter which I will hopefully get written soon! In the meantime I hope you anjoy this, and please let me know what you think! Cheers, Donna xx**

Finn couldn't remember ever sleeping less over the course of a night since eight years ago - the night which followed the day he had first kissed Rachel Berry. He lay in bed now, glancing to his right for his clock to inform him that it was 5:17am, and he was yet to get more than five minutes of sleep at a time. He then glanced to his left, where Grace was curled with her back to him, way on the other side of the bed. This wasn't the way they normally slept, divided by an imaginary but unbreakable line. This wasn't the way happy couples slept.

Finn sighed, and closed his eyes, only to see an image of Rachel, yet again. Since she had walked away from them outside the theatre the previous evening, she had been the only thing on his mind, in all different forms. It was as though, since things had ended all those years ago, he had locked away his memories of her and not allowed himself to delve into them at all... But now, they had been unlocked, and he couldn't help but remember everything at once.

Rachel on their first day of high school, already wearing her pleated skirts at the age of thirteen. He had felt sorry for her even then.

Rachel's face as he began to sing that first day in Glee club, his heart beating faster as she'd taken his hand during the performance.

Rachel kissing him in the auditorium. And then in the bowling alley.

Rachel telling him about that bitch Quinn Fabray's lie, and Rachel holding him as the hurt sank in.

Rachel on the day he officially asked her to be his girlfriend, and the year and a half that had followed. Snapshots of their life as a happy, carefree young couple in love, too many images that all blurred into one.

The two of them sitting cross legged, facing each other on his bed in senior year, shakily opening their letters at the same time. Rachel being shocked and overjoyed to read that she'd gotten into New York University. The way her face fell when he told her he hadn't.

The day she left, and his heart splitting in two. Her phone call after her first day at NYU and his at Ohio State. The way they had felt themselves drifting apart, even then, how they both knew that this fairytale idea of a long-distance relationship could never really work. Not for Finn and Rachel, who were so much a part of each other that only being able to access a small part was just impossible... It had been all or nothing.

It had been nothing.

Finn's eyes burned as he recalled it all, the two of them in tears down the phone as they made the most difficult decision of their lives. And now, so many years later and knowing that she was just a few miles away, he simply _couldn't _ignore the chance to talk to her one more time, face to face. Which was why, that afternoon, after an awkward day of polite conversation with his girlfriend as they pottered about the apartment, he could stand it no longer. He grabbed his keys and his phone and told Grace that he would have to go into work for a couple of hours, that he wouldn't be home late.

He saw the tears shining in her eyes as he left, he felt the guilt that coursed through his veins at the sight... But it didn't stop him. His phone rang as he drove across town, and he knew before he even glanced at the caller ID that it was Grace. He declined the call as he pulled up outside the theatre in the centre of town, his breath catching in his throat at the sight of the enormous poster beaming at him.

The cast members were just starting to trickle out of the stage door - he was right on time for the end of the matinee performance. He waited, tensing every time the door opened just in case it was her.

Finn took his eyes off that door the first time in twenty minutes, to check his phone and see that he had a voice message from Grace, tearfully telling him that she knew something was wrong and all she wanted was for him to talk to her about it. She said she loved him, and he felt sick. What was he _doing _here, loitering outside a door, waiting for a woman who was probably completely different to the girl he remembered from years ago.

But then he put his phone back into his pocket, and turned around so he was facing the theatre once again. And found himself facing Rachel, standing completely still and just looking at him, her eyes brimming with tears. he let his eyes roam over her, taking her in completely... She was wearing a short, pleated skirt.

And instantaneously, the two of them could take it no longer, crashing towards each other at exactly the same moment as though pulled by a magnet and enveloping each other in a hug so fierce that Finn thought they might just stop breathing. The world could have ended, and he wouldn't have cared, because Rachel Berry was back in his arms.

Her hands moved up as they finally pulled back so they could look at each other, one in his hair and one gently stroking his cheek. His arms were around her waist, the two of them leaning in toward each other instinctively until their lips were just centimetres apart. Rachel looked up and into his eyes, her face tear streaked as she whispered...

"Finn. You're with Grace."

And after that, it was like the almost-kiss had never happened. They drew apart as though it had ended at the hug, both beaming just to be back in each other's company - even though they had been a couple, above all else Finn and Rachel had always been best friends.

"I _still _cannot believe you're here!" Rachel chimed, "It's so lovely to see you!"

"I know." He smiled, "I wanted to talk to you last night so much, but you know... It was a bit..."

"I comprehend perfectly." She said, "It was all very overwhelming. Do you want to get a drink? I have a couple of hours free before the evening performance, and coffee with you would definitely beat going home to do nothing."

He nodded, and they began to walk along the street, "So, you're living in the city?"

This was wrong. He felt more comfortable talking to her, more at ease than he had since they'd parted... How was it possible for one person to have such an effect on his life? She slipped her arm through his as they walked, sending a shiver down his spine but he grinned at her nonetheless - he couldn't help it.

"Oh, yes. I have an apartment just a few blocks away."

"Oh yeah? Is it nice?"

"Yes, well I certainly bought it at a time when the market was good." She reeled off, "The view is just spectacular from the balcony and the rooms are huge, very bright in the summer."

"Um, Rach," He said as they entered a coffee shop and sat down, "You just sounded to me like an estate agent... Do _you_ actually like it?"

She sighed, with a half giggle as she sank into a couch beside him, "Oh, you can still read me like a book, Finn. I do like it, sure, but it's just a little big for me, that's all."

"You live there by yourself?"

"Yeah." She said, her tone a little more serious now, and she slipped her arm out from his, "Well, I um... I was engaged. For a while. But I, uh... I'm not now. So it's fine." Finn thought this might be the first time she had ever struggled to form a sentence.

"What happened?" he asked her, concerned but still a little hopeful. Could he even dream that it had ended between Rachel and her fiancé for the reason he hoped?"

"Well... His name was Will, oddly enough." She gave a little laugh at his face, "Not _that _Will, Finn! I met him after I graduated from NYU. We dated kinda on and off for maybe two years, but then we'd been together for a while and things were going well, and he asked me, and I said yes. We were engaged for a whole year after that, and every time he tried to arrange something or get me to name a date for the wedding, I'd put it off a little longer, claim I was too busy with my shows and things... Anyway, eventually I had to break it off. I think it kind of dawned on me that it was cruel to him and to me to keep kidding myself when the truth was I wasn't over..."

It seemed that only now did Rachel remember who she was talking to, and she blushed scarlet as she looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes confirming what her mouth could not.

"Um... Somebody." She cleared her throat, "So, what are you doing these days?"

Finn blinked, quite unable to believe what he had just heard and even more unable to form a sentence in reply.

"Wh...? I, uh..." _Pull yourself together, seriously. _"I'm doing good!" He finally managed brightly, "Yeah, I'm producing music these days."

"Wow." Rachel beamed, "Finn, I'm so proud of you! You sound like you're doing what you love. Anybody I will have heard of, or...?"

"Well, I started work on a new single with Kara Kane yesterday; I don't know if you will have heard of her."

"Of course... How did that go?" Rachel raised an eyebrow, "She has a reputation as a bit of a diva."

Finn chuckled, "Yeah, well she did show up a good few hours late... I almost missed your show."

"I'm so glad you finally saw it." She smiled a little shyly, "I kind of... I kind of wished that you would see me, one day. Of all the people I've known in my life, Finn, you were the one who best understood my passion for what I do. I guess I always wanted to impress you a little."

"You always did." He smiled right back, and as he looked into her eyes he knew he had fallen right into the trap he had told himself he had to avoid. And given what she'd said about why she broke up with her fiancé, his hope that she might just be doing the same was growing by the minute.

"So, Cabaret, huh?"

"Yeah, it's always been a favourite. And hey, it was nice rehearsing without Sandy Rhyerson breathing down my neck at last."

He laughed, "God, all that seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? Glee club."

"Tell me about it." Rachel replied, and they were off again.

Finn lost track of time entirely as they talked for what must have been another hour, touching on pretty much every subject possible. How and when he had moved to New York, how he had gotten his job. What Mr Schue was up to these days, how he still called to give Rachel a pep talk on each one of her opening nights. How the rest of the Glee clubbers were doing - Kurt's makeover show. Tina and Artie's baby. How sad it was that Quinn Puckerman was still suffocating her unhappy husband, keeping someone with such potential tied down in Lima. The other musicals Rachel had starred in, which other artists Finn had produced for.

In fact, pretty much the only subject they didn't mention, for fear of it being too painful for the both of them, was Grace. Aside from that, though, Finn couldn't ever remember talking to someone in such depth in such a short space of time - since he had last been with Rachel, of course. She just seemed to put him at such ease, made him feel as though he could literally say anything to her and it would be accepted. In the space of an hour and a half, Finn felt as though he really knew her again, and he realised that the thing he felt had been missing from his life, all those years, was just that. Knowing Rachel Berry.

"Oh, shoot!" Rachel finally glanced down at her watch, "Finn, I'm going to have to get back to the theatre."

"You know, I was thinking," He smiled sheepishly, "I might come and see the show again. And then maybe afterward, we could-"

He was cut off as Rachel, now looking a little sad but somehow adoring at the same time, placed a finger on his lips.

"Finn," She whispered, "You don't know how much I would love that. You really don't. But... The fact is... It just wouldn't be right. You're with Gr-"

_Beep beep, beep beep. _This time, it was she who was cut off, at the shrill sound of Finn's phone. He drew it out of his pocket and the two of them glanced down at it silently, still sitting very close together, and as they saw Grace's picture appear on the caller ID, a tear slipped out and rolled down Rachel's cheek.

Finn gently wiped it away, completely torn. He looked at the picture of Grace, and at the picture sitting before him. The woman who he had been with for nine months, or the girl who'd had his heart since he could remember. Grace Ferringdon, or Rachel Berry. His girlfriend, or the potential love of his life.

The phone kept on ringing. Rachel was looking at him, and he looked guiltily back at her.

Finn knew what he had to do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Final chapter, guys! I really hope you've liked this story, and thank you for all the lovely reviews I've had. Oh, and sorry for leaving you on such a cliffhanger last time! Hopefully this makes up for it and does Finn and Rachel some justice! :) I really would appreciate people letting me know what you thought of this, I hope you like it! Many thanks.**

**Donna xx**

One Year Later

He leaned over the armrest between them to whisper in her ear, "You nervous?"

"Finn, you've asked me that six times in the past hour, and a total of eighty nine times in the past two weeks." Was the whisper he received back, and he couldn't help but smirk at the fact she'd actually been counting. She continued, raising an eyebrow, "I actually think you're more nervous about this than I am."

"Well, this is huge!" He insisted quietly, "You told me when you were seventeen that you'd been imagining this moment since you were two. And god knows you deserve... Oh god." He put a hand over his face, his eyes widening as the presenter announced:

"...To present the award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical."

"Jeez, this is it. I can't watch. God, how the hell are you not nervous?" He whispered to her frantically, and she honestly looked as though she was about to burst out laughing.

"Sweetie." She told him, taking his hand with an amused smile on her face, "I am. I'm just a hell of a lot better at hiding it than you." She turned to face the front, and he noted that even though her facial expression showed total calm and poise, her hand tightened considerably in his as the last of the nominations was read out.

"And the Tony Award goes to..." The woman on stage read out smoothly, and Finn's heart skipped a beat...

"Rachel Berry, for _Cabaret._"

And suddenly, his heart was back in action, pounding away at a mile a minute as the deafening sound of applause filled the music hall and he, along with the crowd, got to his feet as Rachel beamed and threw her arms around him, in such an open display of joy that it brought tears to his eyes.

"I am so proud of you." He whispered in her ear, and as she pulled back, Rachel looked him right in the eye, telling him silently how much she believed and appreciated him.

Finn watched as she swept down the aisle of the theatre towards the stage, her elegant silver gown floating behind her, and it was in that moment, that moment more than any other, that it hit him just what a good decision he'd made exactly a year ago today. Of course it had been messy, ending things with Grace, and he'd felt worse about that than he ever had about anything in his life - especially now, knowing that she'd undoubtedly be sitting at home watching the awards live on TV.

She was a kind, beautiful girl, who had loved him, and had done absolutely nothing wrong but get caught up with the wrong person at the wrong time. Grace didn't deserve what Finn had done to her... But then again, he thought, she had always deserved much better than him anyway. And he knew she would find it, one day, and maybe one day she could be happy for he and Rachel. Maybe.

For now however, Finn's thought of his ex-fiancée were extremely short lived, were overshadowed immeasurably as Rachel stood up on stage behind the podium and received her award, a radiant smile on her face as the applause still thundered on.

"There is no way," Rachel began, and almost instantly the audience were silenced, held transfixed by her words, "That I could possibly express how much this means to me without breaking into song, which I promised myself and I promise you I'm going to resist doing." The crowd laughed.

"I also want desperately to resist boring you all to death with a long list of acknowledgements, but there are a few people, a few people who are very dear to me and have played an inexplicable part in helping me get to where I am today. The first are my wonderful Fathers, who have pushed me to achieve my absolute potential my whole life and who I couldn't love more. I need undoubtedly to thank my fabulous agent Marie, my director James and every single one of my co-stars, my dream team, if you will. I simply would not _dare_ to accept this without saying a word about Mr William Schuester, who, after a bit of a rocky start, when he attempted to ruin my career by giving away my solos at the age of seventeen," Another chuckle from the crowd, "Has become my mentor and my absolute rock. This one's for you, Mr Schue!" Rachel raised her award into the air, and there was a burst of applause from the audience.

Rachel waited for it to die down before she began to speak again, "Despite all of this, however, as thankful as I am, I am going to have to give this award back." She placed it heavily down on the podium, her words met with great confusion from the crowd before she continued, "That's right; I need this to be sent back immediately, as in three months time, the name engraved on this award will be entirely inaccurate. Because the person I need to thank most of all in the entire world," Her voice wavered here with emotion, "Is my beautiful fiancé, Mr Finn Hudson. One year ago today, I was almost where I am now, starring on Broadway where I belong, but there was still something missing. And I couldn't put my finger on what it was, I just couldn't... Until this man walked back into my life, this man who I've loved since the very first time we sang together over nine years ago and who I just don't think I could live, let alone perform, without. You are quite simply my everything, baby."

She directed her gaze into the part of the hall where he sat, and Finn smiled widely, his eyes shining with tears of pride.

"And so, I'm going to need the name on this old thing-" She rolled her eyes and gestured at the award as the audience laughed, "-Changed to Rachel Hudson, the way it should always have been. Why not Hudson-Berry, I hear you ask?" Rachel finished up, "Well, because it sounded just a little too much like an exotic fruit. Thank you!"

And with that, with the crowd applauding heavily and laughing at her final comment, she gave a tiny curtsey and walked serenely off the stage.

Finn hadn't known what Rachel was going to say in her acceptance speech, he'd been too caught up in nerves for her for it even to occur to him to ask. But now he sat, listening as people praised her all around him, some of them congratulating him, shaking his hand, but barely registering any of it. The ceremony continued, the next category was announced, and as Rachel slipped back into her seat beside him five minutes later, he automatically slid his hand into hers and squeezed it tightly, silently saying more than he ever could out loud.

And, thinking her words over, he realized quite how right she'd been just now, and how wrong they'd been in the past. They'd parted needlessly the first time, given up at the first sign of trouble, and never quite moved on. He'd had his dream job, had been living his dream life, and so had she. But it wasn't until Finn and Rachel had come back into each other's lives, slotted together like pieces of a puzzle, that the two of them felt their dreams had really come true.


End file.
